Always You
by TJmeetsTJ
Summary: Matt and Emily were the best of friends, who haven't seen each other for over fifteen years. Now they are partnered up at CNU.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: We just created a new Standoff site. Go check it out!! Especially the forums...Pictures, FanArt, Games, etc... Check link in profile...

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Chapter One

Matt switched positions in his chair for the third time in the last hour. His new partner would be arriving any minute, and he was excited and worried all at the same time. He knew it would take a really good agent, and person to fill his last partner's shoes. He saw his boss walking toward him, and knew it was time to meet his new partner.

"Matt, your partner's here," Cheryl said, as she stepped up to his desk.

"How about you change your mind, and be my partner again. That way I don't need a new partner," Matt said, grinning widely.

"I'd love to Matt, but CNU needs a new Special Agent in Charge, and well you need someone to kick you in the butt sometimes. Kind of like now, so get up, and come meet your new partner," Cheryl said.

"Okay, but it's not some guy in a stuffy suit is it?" Matt whined.

"If you must know, your partner is female, and she is very lovely," Cheryl said, as she lead Matt toward her office.

"She'd better be," Matt said, as Cheryl opened her office door.

"Matthew Flannery, I'd like to introduce you to Emily Lehman," Cheryl said.

Matt's eyes grew wide, as he stared at the person from his past.

"Emily Lehman is that you," Matt asked, as his voice grew louder.

"Yep, it's me, Matthew Flannery," she said, as she jumped up and hugged him tight.

"You too, know each other?" Cheryl asked, way past confused.

"Yeah, since childhood, but we lost touch after high school," Matt said, staring at Emily, his mind going back to when they first met.

_Beginning of Flashback _

_"Matt your just going to have to make new friends," Matt's father insisted. _

_"But Ronnie is like my best friend," Matt whined. _

_"Well, Ronnie isn't here, but look there is a nice girl next door, go talk to her," Matt's father insisted. _

_"Fine," Matt said, folding his arms over his chest in a defiant way. _

_"None of that tone Matthew Flannery," his mother yelled. _

_"Fine," he said, as he unfolded his arms.  
---------------------------------------------------------------------  
"Hi, my name is Emily, what's yours," the little girl asked. _

_"My name is Matthew, but call me Matt," Matt said, as he sat beside the little girl. _

_"Nice to meet you Matt, how old are you," Emily asked. _

_"I'm seven, what about you," Matt asked, as he took the shovel sitting next to Emily. _

_"I'm seven too, do you like to dig holes," Emily asked. _

_"Yeah, I used to have a sand box at my old house," Matt said. _

_"Oh, that sounds like fun," Emily said. _

_"You don't have one," Matt asked. _

_"No, but digging in the dirt is fun too," Emily said, her bright eyes, lit up in the sun light. _

_"Well, let me see if it's as fun as sand," Matt said, as he started digging a hole. _

_"Wow, your a good digger," Emily said.  
------------------------------------------------------------------  
A couple hours had past, and Matt and Emily had dug a quite large hole in Emily's front yard. _

_"Emily dinner's ready, and quit digging holes in the front yard," Emily's mom called. _

_"Matt, dinner's ready," Matt's father called. _

_Both parents looked toward each other, and was stricken aback, to find that they did indeed know the voices coming from each other's yard. _

_End of Flashback  
_  
"Matt," Cheryl said, waving her hand in front of his face.

"Yeah," he said, trying to play it off, even though he didn't fool either one of them.

"Is it going to be a problem you two being partners?" Cheryl asked.

"Oh god no, we work well together," Matt's grin grew wide.

He didn't remember her being quite so beautiful.

She couldn't believe a man could get any more handsome, than he was the last time she saw him.


	2. Chapter 2

_Flashback_

_"Matt!"   
Matt slowed his paced to let his best friend catch up to him.  
"Hey, Emily. I waited for 15 minutes but you never showed. I figured you got held up or somethin." It was their first day of junior high school and they had agreed to meet outside the gym. They had no classes together so each was eager to hear about the other's day.  
"I hate middle school!" Emily kicked a rock sending it flying into the street.  
"Aw it wasn't that bad!" Matt gave her a light pat on the back.  
"Yeah! You're Mr. popular. Everyone loves you. I'm just the geek who everyone wants to push down the stairs." Emily hung her head, embarrassed.  
"Hey I think you're pretty cool. That's all that matters. They don't know what they're missing. Don't let 'em get ya down." Matt used his people skills to console his friend. Emily swears he's gonna end up a politician just like his dad.  
"Easy for you to say.." She mumbled to herself.  
"Hey lets stop by Papa's and get a pizza. I'm starving." Matt pulled Emily through the doors of their favorite pizza place.  
"You're always hungry," She joked elbowing Matt lightly in the side.   
"Hey I'm a growing teenage boy!" He smiled enjoying the ease of their banter. _

_End Flashback_

Emily stared at the man sitting across from her. She didn't realize how much she had missed him until she saw Matt standing in Cheryl's office with a look of shock and excitement on his face. Emily knew that look. It's the same goofy look he's had since they were 7. They were inseparable back then. Summer days were spent playing outside together. And once school started they'd meet up afterwards to help each other with homework.

"What?" Matt asked.  
"Do I have something on my face?" Matt grinned at Emily.  
"Sorry. I was staring wasn't I?" Emily blushed slightly.  
Matt glanced down then back up. He was surprised and confused by the nervousness he felt. His childhood and most of his teenage years were spent with this woman. Every memory involved Emily. Several times over the past 18 years Matt found himself wishing for Emily to still be in his life. When he got accepted into the FBI training program he wanted to celebrate with her. Pick up a pizza from Papa's like they used to. A surge of anger hit him as he remembered the reason for going their separate ways.

"Yeah. Seriously though, how are you? It's been a while." Matt stared at Emily. He never would have thought the geeky girl from high school would grow up to be so beautiful.  
"I'm doing good. I, uh, just moved here. Still trying to get a feel for everything. But I like it. This seems like a great place to work." Emily cleverly avoided what Matt was really asking.  
"What have you been up to?" Emily nervously twirled a curl around her finger, a gesture Matt found endearing.  
"Well I've been here for about 6 years. Cheryl was my old partner. She was recently promoted, hence the new partner thing." Matt leaned back in his chair and stretched.  
"I think you'll like it here. There's lots to do. Of course with our schedules there's not much time to do it." Both laughed and relaxed for the first time since their reunion.  
"Hey there's this great bar across the street, Sloan's. We all usually get a drink after work. Want to join us tonight? I mean, if you drink." Matt wouldn't exactly know that. Last time they saw each other they were only 17. Not quite old enough to drink.  
"Yeah I'd love to. Give me a chance to introduce myself to everyone. Plus in our line of work you really need a drink every now and then." She smiled at Matt. They still had that ease about them, even after all these years.  
"Great!" Matt smiled back. Both let themselves be lost in thoughts and memories of their past, wondering if it was possible to move forward.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

_Beginning of Flashback  
"Matthew slow down," young Emily yelled.  
"Hey, walk faster, I don't want to miss the beginning," Matt said.  
"It's not fair, you have longer legs than me," Emily said.  
"Yeah, well that's cause I'm a boy, your a girl. Your just gonna have to move those short stubby legs faster," Matt said, as he grabbed her hand to pull her along with him.  
"This is not fair, this is worse than having short legs," Emily said, as he pulled her, in between a big group of people.  
"Hey, we're almost there, could you stop whining for a minute so I can buy the tickets?" Matt asked.  
"Fine," Emily said, as she came to a halting stop in front of the movie theater.  
"I need two tickets for Return of the Jedi," Matt said, handing the man his money.  
"You two look at little young, what are you ten?" the man asked.  
"I beg your pardon, but I am a twelve year old, thank you very much," Emily said, crossing her arms across her chest.  
"Excuse me! I'm sorry, but you have to be thirteen to watch this movie," the man said.  
"Well, good sir, we have parent notes," Matt said, handing him two slips of paper.  
"Okay then, here you go. Two tickets to Return of the Jedi," the man said, handing them their tickets.  
End of Flashback_

"Hey Matt, Cheryl is kind of yelling at us," Emily said pointing at Cheryl's office.  
"Huh? Oh, lets go," Matt said leaving his chair.  
"Matt, is this our first case?" Emily asked.   
"Yeah, are you scared?" Matt asked.  
"No, well, no," Emily said, not fooling Matt.  
"Don't worry, I'll be right there with you," Matt said.  
"Thanks," she said, giving his arm a little squeeze.   
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"Look, I know this is your first day, but we've got a jumper," Cheryl said.  
Matt looked at Emily before responding, "Nah, we got it."  
They left Cheryl's office, and made they're way to the elevator.  
"Are we taking your car or mine?" Emily asked, not really sure how it all worked.  
"We can take mine. Yours probably doesn't have a siren on it yet," Matt said.  
"Okay," she said, as they had reached their destination.  
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The first few minutes of the drive was done is silence.  
"So, you drive a Mustang," Emily said.  
"Yeah, ain't it hot? I love this car," he said, a big smile on his face.  
"I love it. Maybe soon I can afford one like it," she said, a smile now planted on her face.  
"Didn't you used to have a thing for guys with Mustang's?" Matt asked.  
"Yep," she said, as they reached the scene.


	4. Chapter 4

"Ok." Matt read the briefing notes.

"We've got a white male late 30's. Mark Walters. He owns his own company on the top floor of this building. They buy and sell stocks but it looks like he had a really bad deal last week. Things have gone downhill since. And today he caught his wife in bed with the neighbor. Perfect."

Matt and Emily looked at each other. This case hit a little too close to home...

Flashback

"Joe?"

"Sarah?"

The two smiled at each other. It had been over 20 years since they saw each other last.

"Hey Matt go wash up. Your mom's got dinner on the table." Joe called to his son.

"Ok dad. Hey wanna play tomorrow?" Matt stood up brushing the dirt off his jeans.

"Sure." Emily did the same and they both ran inside.

"How are you doing, Sarah?" Joe walked over to his high school girlfriend and gave her a light hug.

"I'm good." They stood there in an awkward silence.

"Well I should go. We're about to eat dinner." Sarah gave one last smile before heading back inside.

'Wow.' Joe thought to himself. 'Just as beautiful as ever.'

End Flashback

"So do you want to be primary?" Matt brought them both out of their daze.

"Yeah sure. I guess I have to start sometime." Emily put her ear piece and motioned for Cheryl to make the call.

"Hello?" A man answered after just 2 rings, sadness evident in his voice.

"Hi, is this Mark?" Emily asked gently.

"Yeah. Who is this?" Though he didn't really care.

"My name is Emily. I work for the FBI."

"The FBI? Why is the FBI here?" Mark asked very confused.

"I'm a crisis negotiator. I'm just here to talk. You want to tell me what's going on?" Emily tried to relax. She needed all her attention on this man right now.

"Not much. I want to die. There's not really anything you can do to help me." The man had clearly given up all hope.

"Yeah, I heard that you found your wife in bed with someone else this morning." Emily broached the subject carefully knowing it could possible send him over the edge. No pun intended.

"Yeah what do you know about it?" Mark sneered.

"You get a little file telling you all the details of my life and you think you're an expert on me? You don't anything!" He screamed back at Emily.

"At least he didn't jump." Matt shrugged his shoulders at Emily.

"You're right. I have no idea what you're feeling right now." Emily looked at Matt. He held up a little white board. 'Common ground' Their eyes locked for a moment and after some hesitation Emily got back on the phone with Mark.

"You know what Mark, I do actually know how you're feeling." Emily took a deep breath.

"My mom cheated on my Dad. Her high school sweetheart moved next door to us when I was seven years old. When I was 17 my dad caught her in bed with the guy." Emily looked anywhere but at Matt.

"What happened?" Mark had remained silent throughout her speech.

"Well my Dad left and I haven't heard from him since. I had become best friends with the guy's son and we were forbidden to see each other. Everyone suffered Mark. Just like you're suffering now. Things will get better. With time the pain will fade. I know it doesn't seem like it right now but trust me. There is so much life left to live." Emily finally looked at Matt. He nodded his head at her in encouragement.

"What happened to your friend?" Marks voice startled her.

"Well we didn't talk for years. Actually I, uh, I just ran into him again." She looked at Matt.

"Mark are you still there?" Emily looked up to make sure he hadn't jumped.

"Yeah...I don't really want to die, Emily. It just hurts so much." Mark choked up.

"I know Mark. I know. Why don't you come down from there. I can recommend someone for you to talk to." Emily held her breath waiting for a response.

"Ok. I'm coming down."

Cheers erupted from the crowd of FBI agents. Matt walked over to Emily.

"You did good, Em. I know that wasn't exactly easy." Matt rested his hand on her shoulder.

"Why didn't we keep in touch Matt? We were almost 18. We could've ignored our parents." She looked up at him searching his eyes.

"I guess it just hurt too much." Matt looked away not quite ready to talk about it any further.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

After arriving back to the office, Matt slid slowly into his chair and dug into the paperwork.

"Hey, are you okay?" Emily asked, knowing that he wasn't, and neither was she.

"Yeah...well, I mean I will be," Matt said, trying to hide the tension that had begun to build up in his body.

"Look, Matt I know that our past is still a very sore subject," Emily said, trying to dance slowly around the subject.

"Yeah I just, I don't think I can talk about it." He got up and walked toward Cheryl's office.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Emily couldn't wrap her head around what he was thinking. She couldn't blame him for being upset, but they needed to talk about it. They needed to spend some time together. They needed to move forward and not get stuck in the past.

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Matt walked past Cheryl's office. He wasn't entirely sure why he got up and walked away. It was really childish of him, and he was certain Emily thought that. He really wanted to mend their friendship. He had really missed having her in his life. He just couldn't wrap his head around the fact that she couldn't leave the past in the past. One thing was certain, they needed to talk.

_Beginning of Flashback_

_"Matt I need to talk to you," Joseph said, as he sat his son down._

_"Dad why did mom leave?" Matt asked, knowing it was something his father had done._

_"Matt, I know if I tell you this, you won't understand. You couldn't your only seventeen," Joseph said, mostly to himself._

_"Dad, I know it was something you did, I just don't know what you did. Is it cause you haven't been around much, the last couple of years?" Matt asked._

_Joseph knew how easily he could get out of the trouble he was really in by agreeing to what Matt was saying. Matt was almost an adult, and he would find out soon enough, especially since Sarah's husband had left her as well. _

_"Son, you know Emily's mom?" Joseph asked._

_"Yeah, Sarah, I like her. She's really nice," Matt said, as a smile crept across his face._

_"Well, I used to know Sarah a long time ago," Joseph said, dancing lightly around his past._

_"Yeah, mom said something about you two being friends or something," Matt said, knowing he really needed to listen to his parents more often._

_"Well, we were high school sweethearts, back in the day. After graduation, we lost track of each other, and well," Joseph said._

_"No, I think I know where this is going. I don't want to hear it, I don't want you to say those words," Matt said, acting as if he was five._

_"Your old enough to know the truth Matthew," Joseph said._

_"Okay, well if the truth is that you cheated on mom, then I'm walking out that door," Matt said. He had always been defiant, but he couldn't bare the thought of his father being with anyone other than his mother. _

_"Matthew I'm so sorry," Joseph said, now on his knees._

_"Well, take your sorry's and shove 'em dad. Cause I don't want them and neither does mom!" Matt said, as he ran up to his room._

_End of Flashback_

"Matt," Emily said, pushing him into a nearby, empty room.

"Emily, what are you doing," Matt asked.

"We need to talk, and every time I get close to mentioning the words, you run off." Emily said.

"So you're locking me in a closet until I comply?" Matt asked, thinking it was a joke.

"Matthew Joseph Flannery, I'm being serious. We have not spoken for fifteen years, and we have just been thrown into this partnership," Emily said.

"Okay, we'll talk. But being crammed into a tiny closet isn't a very good or comfortable place to do it," Matt said.

"Well, what did you have in mind?" Emily asked.

"I was thinking we'd go to my house and have a beer. And we can reminisce all you want," Matt said.

"Oh, so you want to go to your place because you wanna get drunk, so you can pretend the conversation didn't happen?" Emily asked, becoming increasingly angry with him.

"No, it's just, to have this conversation, I'm going to need at least some alcohol in my body." Matt said.

"I see, to numb the pain huh?" Emily asked.

"Yeah," Matt said.

"Yeah, I think we'll go to my place. Since I don't have any alcohol. You need to have a open mind, and so do I," Emily said, as she patted his chest.

"This isn't fair, Lehman. I need my beer, Emily!" he said as he followed her out of the closet.


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER SIX

"So I see you're still unpacking?" Matt looked around the box filled living room.  
"Yeah." Emily kicked off her shoes and shut the door.  
"You want something to drink?" She asked Matt as she headed for the kitchen.  
"Unless you've got some strong alcohol, then no." Matt plopped down on the couch. 'At least she's got furniture' he thought to himself.  
Emily peeked around the corner and glared at Matt. God he was just as difficult as he used to be. 'Men!'

Flashback

"Emily?" Matt looked at her like she'd grown a second head.  
"What?"   
"You are in my seat!" He crossed his arms and leaned against the desk next to hers.  
"You've got to be kidding me! Matt we don't have assigned seats!"  
"Well not technically but I always sit there and you always sit here." Matt motioned to the desk he was leaning against.  
"Why do you have to be so difficult. Just sit there today!" Emily now crossed her arms indicating she had no intention of moving.  
"Come on, Em!" Matt whined. "I have to sit there!"  
"I'm not moving Matt so suck it up!" Emily went back to reading her book.  
"Fine!" Matt sat down and glared at her. Emily felt her lips twitch but resisted the urge to smile.

End Flashback

Emily brought out two glasses of water and sat down on the opposite end of the couch.  
"What? Are you mad at me or something?" Matt smirked at her.  
"No I just don't want to sit next to you right now." Emily tucked her legs up under her.  
'She's so cute when she's mad' Matt smiled to himself. Wait a second. Where did that come from?  
"So where do we start?" Matt cleared his throat. He wasn't thrilled with the subject but needed a distraction.   
"Well what have you been up to the past 15 years!" Emily watched Matt fidget.  
"Not much. It's actually been a pretty lonely 15 years. After I lost you I decided not to get close to anyone..." Matt trailed off.  
Emily was not expecting that. But she had done exactly the same thing. Losing Matt had been harder then anyone could have imagined. She never thought Matt was affected the same way.  
"Matt I'm sorry! I should've tried to see you! I hated my Mom for what she did and hated my dad for abandoning me. You were all I had Matt and I just let you go! I didn't' know what else to do. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry.." Emily broke down in tears. Matt moved over and held Emily tight, tears streaming down his own face.  
"Emily it's not your fault. We were young and traumatized by what our parents did. I was so angry. I was angry at the world Emily and I didn't want to see anyone. I'm the one who should be sorry. I would lay awake at night and think about you. Wonder where you were and what you were doing. I could've tried to find you and I didn't Emily. I'm sorry." They held each tight letting out 15 years of emotion. After a few moments had passed Matt felt Emily's body relax against him.  
'He smells so good' Emily thought to herself. She pulled away from Matt and wiped her eyes. They sat in an awkward silence.  
'What just happened?' Matt wondered. Did Emily feel it too?

"So you want that beer now?" Emily looked at Matt and smiled.  
"I thought you'd never ask. I actually have a six pack in the car. I'll go get it." Matt stood up, grabbed his keys and went to get the beer.  
Emily ran to the bathroom to wash her face and freshen up. She walked back out and joined Matt on the couch. Matt popped the top off the two beers and handed one to Emily.  
"I say we lighten things up a bit. Wanna play a game?" Matt grinned at Emily.

Flashback  
"You cheater!!" Matt threw a pillow at Emily.  
"Matt I did not cheat! You can't cheat at Scrabble. You're just a sore loser!" Emily threw the pillow back and a pillow fight erupted.  
"Ok Ok I give up!" Emily collapsed with laughter on the floor, Matt joining her seconds later.  
"You won so you have to clean up the game." Matt grinned at his friend.  
"I don't think so! That's not who it works!" Emily punched him lightly in the arm.  
"You know every time we play a game I always end up cleaning up. What's up with that?" Matt bent over to pick up the Scrabble pieces.  
"Well stop losing!" Emily grinned then ran away as Matt picked up another pillow.  
End Flashback

"You cheater!" Matt leaned against the couch and pouted.  
"Still a sore loser I see." Emily grinned at him.  
"Oh shoot." Emily stood up.  
"What?"  
"I forgot I have to wash clothes." Emily walked back to her bedroom and emerged a few seconds later carrying a heaping pile of laundry.  
"Jeez, Em! Don't you ever wash clothes?" Matt followed her to the laundry room.  
"Yes! I'm a woman. We go through clothes faster then men do!" Emily opened the washing machine.  
"Oops I forgot about my towels." Emily grinned sheepishly. Matt hopped up on the dryer.

"Hey! What are you doing? I've gotta put my towels in the dryer!" Emily glared at Matt.  
"I'm not in the way!" Matt replied as he pulled his legs up.  
"You are impossible!" Emily loaded the towels then turned on the dryer.  
"Whoa! Ok that is an interesting feeling!" Matt laughed as he hopped down.   
Emily blushed slightly as she finished loading the washer. Matt saw her blush but decided to leave it alone.  
"Hey can I crash on your couch tonight? I think we've both had too much to drink." Matt called over his shoulder as he walked back to the living room.  
"Um sure." Emily grabbed some blankets and a pillow out of the hall closet.  
"Here you go. Do you still sleep with a fan?" Emily watched Matt make a bed on the couch.  
"You remembered." Matt grinned at Emily.  
'God how I've missed that smile.' Emily brought Matt a fan and said goodnight. She headed to bed but knew she wouldn't be getting any sleep that night.


	7. Chapter 7

Emily crawled out of bed, after checking the clock for the fifth time that hour. It was only 5:45, and she didn't have to be up for at least another hour. She tip-toed into the kitchen to start a pot of coffee. God knows she won't make it through the day without it. She checked on Matt, making sure he was still asleep.

After starting the coffee pot she went back into her bedroom, grabbed her clothes she had laid out for this morning, and went into the bathroom. She started the water, and it was way too cold to get into.

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Matt rolled over and smiled knowing she had checked on him. He hadn't slept any last night, and was glad to know she was fixing some coffee. He sat up and pulled his shirt back on, and waited for Emily to come out of the bathroom.

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Emily shut the shower off and grabbed her towel. After drying off, she wrapped it around her head and climbed out of the shower. She grabbed her clothes and started to pull them on one by one. After quickly running a brush through her hair, she decided that she didn't feel like doing anything with it and threw it up and a neat, tight ponytail.

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Matt sat at the counter that separated the kitchen from the living room, and had a perfect view of Emily emerging from her bedroom. She was wearing a lower cut long sleeved shirt with a tank top underneath it. She had on a pair of jeans that hugged her hips perfectly, and her hair was up in a ponytail, but she had left a slight strand of hair in her face. 'Beautiful' Matt said to himself, before making himself shake out of his fantasy world.

"Hey, how'd you sleep?" Emily asked.

"Pretty good," Matt said, though he didn't know why he had lied.

"Yeah, me too," Emily said, but she knew he could probably tell that she hadn't.

"I went ahead fixed you a cup of coffee," Matt said, handing her the mug.

"Thanks, I thought you were out of it," Emily said, as she sat down on the couch.

"I was, but I smell coffee and I'm up," Matt said, as he grinned lightly.

"Yeah, me too. I honestly don't know what I would do without this stuff," Emily said, taking a sip from her mug.

"Do you mind if I use your shower?" Matt asked, although he knew he had to go home and change anyway.

"Yeah, but I don't think I have anything you can wear," Emily said, smiling slightly.

"Yeah, I'm gonna go home and grab a change of clothes, I just wanted to go ahead a get a shower in," Matt said, hating how stupid he had just sounded.

"Well, have at it, there's soap and shampoo in there. I mean it's all girly stuff though," Emily said, having a kick at the look on his face.

"Oh, really, my favorite," Matt said, as he rolled his eyes.

"You could at least try and hide your sarcasm a little bit," Emily pouted, and pretended to me mad.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I meant to say, my favorite," Matt said, in a much cheerier voice.

"Better," she said, laughing lightly.

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After Matt left for his house, Emily sulked around for a little bit. Her thoughts going automatically to Matt. 'Emily stop this' she told herself. Matt was her best friend, she had known him since they were little kids. Although they hadn't seen each other in over fifteen years, she still felt so close to him. Like she could tell him anything, and that he would be there. That was what she had loved about him from the start, his easy-going nature. Even after things started to go rapidly downhill, he was so easy-going up until the end.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Matt pulled up at his apartment, and found that it was hard work keeping his mind off of Emily. He didn't understand why he was thinking about her, in a more than a friend type of way, but he really needed to stop. She was like his sister, his very hot sister. 'Matt stop this' he said to himself. He had thought about her for most of the fifteen years that they didn't see or talk to each other. Several times he thought about picking up the phone just to call and see how she was, but it was still a very fresh wound that wouldn't heal easily. Even after fifteen years, she still had the same ease, and geeky charm about her. He had noticed it for the first time when they were twelve.

Beginning of Flashback

"Matt come on he isn't worth it," Emily said, pulling on his arm.

"All I want to know is what he called you," Matt said, ready to fight if it came to that.

"Look just take your stupid girlfriend and get out of here," the boy said.

The boy was at least double the size of Matt, and he was about fifteen in age, but no one talked about his best friend like that and got off scot clean.

"Okay, first of ew, she isn't my girlfriend. Second of all, she is my best friend, and she is a girl and you don't need to talk to her that way," Matt said, balling his fists, and got in a position to fight if he needed to.

"Look, your like twelve, so I'm not going to fight you. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said what I said," the boy said, looking at Emily.

"I still want to know what you said to her," Matt said, not backing away.

"Matt I will tell you, let's just go," Emily said, as she tugged a little harder.

"No, if he wants to know, and he wants to fight me then fine. I called her a four-eyed geek," the boy said.

Matt didn't even think, he was so mad, that he punched the boy right in the face.

"Oh that's it, you'd better run," the boy said, as he got up off the ground, and stood face to face with Matt.

"I can take it," Matt said.

"Fine," the boy said, as he popped Matt right in the face.

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"Matthew Flannery, how much stupider are you gonna be?" Emily asked him, as her mom examined Matt's eye.

"I'm a boy, so probably a lot," Matt said, as he felt a cold bag of ice on his face.

"Are you mom and dad home?" Sarah asked.

"No, they're at work," Matt said, the whole side of his face black and blue.

"Okay, well, I'll give them a call," Sarah said.

"Call my mom, she's nicer," Matt said.

"Okay,you hold this on there, and don't take it off," Sarah said as she went back into the house.

End of Flashback


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER EIGHT

Emily sat in the red desk chair waiting for Matt to arrive. She straightened up her desk trying to occupy herself, wondering what was taking so long. 'Stupid question.' She thought to herself. 'That man is always late!'

FLASHBACK

Emily stood against the old brick wall tapping her left foot impatiently. It was 9:15 am, and Matt should've been there 15 minutes ago. It was a bright Saturday morning during the summer following their freshman year of high school. The heat that summer had been almost unbearable. Today there were going to Glacier Point Water Park, desperately needing to be in the water. It was still early and temperatures were already in the 90's. Emily's face was covered with sweat and she vowed to make Matt pay for making her wait so long. 'Speaking of the devil' She thought to herself.

"Hi" Matt grinned sheepishly.

"What took you so long?" Emily glared at him.

"I overslept!" He threw his hands up in defense.

"I knew I should've just waited for you at the house!"

"Well you could have but see now we've got the food and drinks so we can go straight to the park." Matt grinned knowing he had won.

"Whatever!" She rolled her eyes at him but then smiled. Staying mad at Matt was impossible.

"Lets go."

END FLASHBACK

"Emily?" Matt sat down in the blue desk chair and waved his hand in front of her face.

"Huh? What?" Emily jerked out of her daydream and looked at Matt, who was grinning like an idiot.

"Sorry. I was kind of in my own little world." Emily could feel her cheeks flaming.

"Guess you didn't sleep well after all." Matt winked at her.

'Did he just wink at me??' Emily wondered.

'Did I just wink at her??' Matt asked himself incredulously.

"Matt, Emily can I see you in my office?" Cheryl called out but stopped after seeing the expression on the pair's faces. 'Ok. Wonder what that's all about.'

"Uh, we have a situation." Cheryl turned and walked back into her office.

Matt and Emily jumped out of their chairs nearly knocking each other over in the process.

"Sorry!" they both said at the same time then laughed nervously.

"After you," Matt motioned with his arms.

"What's up Cheryl?" Emily entered their superiors office first Matt following closely behind her.

"A 31 year old man just took his ex-girlfriend hostage. She had a child six months ago and neglected to tell him it was his. Apparently he found out today." Cheryl loved her job but hated the situation's like this one. She wanted to change the slogan to "Guns don't kill people. Secrets kill people."

"Alright we're on it." Matt led the way but once they were in the parking lot he tossed Emily the keys to his mustang.

"What's this for?" Emily asked wide-eyed.

"You drive." He grinned at her. Emily's eyes lit up and she hopped in the drivers seat.

"Lets go save some hostages!" Emily smiled at Matt as she sped off.   
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
10 hours later...

"That was the longest 10 hours of my life!" Emily sighed as she waited for Matt to unlock the door to his house. They each kicked off their shoes and plopped on the couch, understandably exhausted.

"Thanks for letting me drive." Emily shifted slightly and smiled at Matt.

"Well I know how much you love Mustangs." Matt grinned. 'And guys who drive them' he thought. 'Stop it Matt!' He tried to shake his head of these thoughts that seemed to be taking over.

Emily laughed as she watched the different emotions run across Matt's face.

"You look like you're having an argument with yourself, Matt." Emily smiled at the man sitting before her.

"Huh? Oh I'm just thinking about the case." Matt lied through his teeth. He tried to picture her as the geeky girl from high school. Even then he always thought she was pretty. Not quite his type but still pretty. But now, sitting here on the couch, beautiful was the only word to describe her.

Emily couldn't deny the attraction she felt. It was never like this before. They were always just friends. And she was happy with that. Matt was and always would be the best friend she ever had. The Psychologist in her tried to analyze these new feelings that had emerged but she came up with nothing every time. 'Maybe it's because he's just plain hot.' Emily laughed out loud at this.

"What?" Matt looked at her like she was crazy.

"Oh, nothing." Emily couldn't control her laughter. It really wasn't that funny but she couldn't stop herself.

Matt watched his best friend collapse with laughter and was drawn in. 'Emily always had a contagious laugh.' He thought to himself.

Emily finally stopped laughing and locked eyes with Matt. She felt butterflies form in her stomach. Emily rested her hand on her stomach trying to calm them.

Matt felt his own heart skip a beat but couldn't tear his eyes away. He felt his body move closer. 'Stop it Matt. She's your best friend. She's your partner. Don't do it!' Matt shook his head. Screw logic. He had to kiss her. He couldn't deny this feeling anymore.

Emily felt Matt moving closer. 'Oh my God he's going to kiss me!' She thought to herself. Their faces were a mere inches apart. Emily felt Matt's breath on her cheek and her eyes flutter close. Suddenly the room was filled with the sound of pagers and cell phones going off. Emily's eyes flew open and after a moment of hesitation reached for her phone.

"Lehman?"

"Emily it's Cheryl. I know you just got home but...How do you feel about Denver?"


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

"Okay, so we are flying to Denver for a high profile kidnapping?" Matt asked Cheryl as they walked out of Cheryl's office.

"Yes. The parents names are Charles and Mona Webster," Cheryl said. Matt's face suddenly lost all color, and he went very silent.

"Matt, are you alright, you don't look very good," Cheryl said.

"Um, no I'm fine," Matt said, making himself move forward.

"Okay, like I was saying, Charles and Mona Webster, were on vacation up in Denver. They were about to go skiing. Charles was getting down they're ski's, and Mona had went to the restroom. When Charles turned around to hand Anthony his ski's and he was gone," Cheryl said.

"Okay, so what does the Mother or father do, that makes this high-profile," Emily asked, a bit grumpily, considering she had just spent the last ten hours talking a man out of killing his ex.

"The father, Charles, is on City Council back in his hometown," Cheryl said.

All of the sudden it fit into place, why Matt was acting so weird after hearing the names. Charles Webster was on the City Council with Matt's dad. Emily sympathized with Matt 100 on this. Emily felt her hand slowly lock with Matt's and she felt his eyes on him. She gave his hand a little squeeze, she told herself that it was just to show him that she was here for him.

"Look, there is a plane waiting on you guys and Lia, so run, Lia's waiting," Cheryl said, as she handed the file over to Emily, whose hand was still locked with Matt's who started to pull her down the hall, and into the elevator. Matt suddenly wished they weren't alone in the elevator, as a sudden shyness appeared and he felt his stomach do flip flops. He looked down at her hand, which was still firmly locked around his. A part of him wanted to pull it away, maybe some of these feelings would leave. The other part, a bigger part, just wanted to grab her and kiss her. He couldn't allow that though. She was his best friend, and his partner. That could only lead to problems and trouble that they didn't need. He nearly lost his head once tonight already.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Luckily for Matt the elevator opened with Lia standing in front of them, her hands on her hips. Her anger, diminish when she saw the two, holding hands. She suddenly needed information.

"Hey, Matt," Lia said, throwing her arm around his neck.

"Hey Lia. I'm not sure that you've met my new partner, Emily Lehman," Matt said.

"Oh, hi Emily, I'm Lia," Lia said, shaking her hand.

"Hi, Lia, your an intelligence agent right?" Emily asked.

"Yep, I'm a geeky techie," Lia said, laughing lightly.

"Been there," Emily said, lightly.

"You, geeky?" Lia asked, noticing the beauty that radiated from Emily.

"Yeah. Right Matt," Emily said, shoving him lightly.

"Oh yeah, she was a big geek," Matt said, which earned him a small punch in the arm.

"You know, after all these years, you'd think you would have learnt to throw a punch," Matt said.

"I can throw a punch, I just didn't want to hurt you," Emily said, laughing loudly.

Lia watched as the two bickered back and forth. She wasn't sure what was going on, but this was sure to be an interesting trip.

-------------------------------------------------------------

They walked slowly off the plane. Emily thought the negotiation was excruciating. She had never been so glad to be on the ground before. It wasn't that she was afraid of flying, cause she wasn't. It was so horrible, because of the tension between her and Matt. She knew it was taking every ounce in her to not throw herself on him. She knew it had to be worse for Matt cause well, when she was around him he was a 'growing teenaged boy'.

"Okay, where are we setting up?" Matt asked.

"Um, we were told to meet the local CNU Squad, at their building, and that we would get further directions from there," Lia said.

"Okay, well lets get our luggage and go," Matt said.

-------------------------------------------------------------

"You must be LA CNU right?" a man approached them as they walked through security at the front of the Denver CNU building.

"Yeah, I'm Special Agent Matt Flannery. This is my partner Special Agent Emily Lehman, and this is our Intelligence expert Lia Mathers," Matt said.

"Welcome, and we thank you for coming. My name is James Livings," James said.

"Yeah, it's not a problem," Emily said.

"Okay, we aren't expecting another call for a couple of hours. There is a hotel right across the street, so we thought you guys would be fine there. We've already set up your rooms, all you need to do is take your luggage over, then we can go over the case file," James said.

"Okay," Matt said, as he followed the two girls, out of the building.


	10. Chapter 10

CHAPTER TEN

FLASHBACK

"Hey want to sleep over tonight?" Emily and Matt were in the Lehman's house eating a snack.

"Yeah! Hey maybe we can camp outside. I've got a tent and everything!" An excited Matt replied with a mouth full of food.

"Ew! Don't talk with your mouth full! Didn't your mom teach you any manners?" Emily shook her little finger at her friend. Matt replied by opening his mouth wide and showing Emily a mouth full of partially chewed food.

"Boys!" She sighed to herself.

-------------------------------

Later that night Matt and Emily were sleeping in their tent outside. After much persuasion they finally got both parents' to agree to a camp out. Matt stirred in his sleeping bag.

"Emily!" He pushed her lightly.

"Emily..." Matt shook her harder this time. Emily groaned and rolled over.

"What Matt?"

"You're snoring! Put a cork in it!"

"I do not snore!" Emily insisted defensively.

"Yeah you do!" Matt sat up in his sleeping bag now.

"I do not! Now leave me alone and go back to sleep."

"It's kind of hard to sleep with your snoring. It sounds like a train." Matt grinned. He loved teasing her and would never let her live this one down. Before he knew it she picked up her pillow and chucked it at him.

"Hey!" He yelped before throwing it back at her.

"Ok Ok! Come on. Let's go back to sleep now." Emily said laughing. She watched Matt for a few minutes until his breathing slowed.

"And I do not snore!" She grinned, happy to get the last word in.

END FLASHBACK

"They only booked us two rooms, Lia. You don't mind sharing with me do you?" Emily handed Matt his room key.

"Not at all!" Lia smiled at Emily.

"You sure Lia? Emily's known to snore quite loudly!" Matt ducked as Emily tried to smack him.

"I do not snore!" Emily stood with her hands on her hips glaring at him. Lia laughed at the exchange between the two.

"How long have you guys known each other?"

"Since we were 7." Emily smiled at Matt now.

"Wow. I thought you seemed awfully comfortable with each other for only being partners for 1 week." Lia laughed.

-----------------------------------

"Look we don't care who you are! Mr. Webster will pay you whatever you want. He just wants his son back." Matt shouted into the phone.

He felt Emily put a hand on his shoulder to calm him. Matt locked eyes with her conveying a message of anger, fear and exhaustion. 'I know' Emily mouthed to him. She turned around and stopped dead in her tracks. Less than 20 feet away stared the same brown eyes. Emily took a deep breath and walked over to Joe Flannery.

"What are you doing here?" She asked trying not to sound too annoyed.

"I'm here to see Special Agent Flannery." The older man replied slowly, wondering who this lady was.

"I know who you're here to see. I don't think Matt is ready to see you now. Why don't you just go home." Emily didn't even try to hide her disgust. Those eyes haunted her dreams. For months all Emily could think about was that man with her mother.

"Emily?" Mr. Flannery finally realized who he was talking to.

"My how you've grown!" He smiled a huge smile and Emily thought for a second he was going to try and hug her.

"I don't think Matt wants to see you right now." She repeated and put her hands on her hips. Joe Flannery's smile faded as he realized he was probably the last person she wanted to see.

"Look Emily. I know you must still hate me.." Joe was interrupted by an irate Emily.

"You know what? Let's not go there right now. Ok?" Just then Matt walked up behind Emily wondering what was going on. He stopped when he saw his father.

"Dad...What...What are you doing here?" Matt stammered.

"I missed you son. I flew in with Charles and..I just had to see you." Joe's eyes filled with tears at seeing his boy again after 10 years.

"Dad, look I can't do this right now. Please just go home. I...I'll call you when I get back to LA. Ok just please. I can't do this right now." Matt walked away as his own eyes filled with tears. Emily ran after him.

"Hey Matt! Lia's got something!" Emily called out as she ran to catch up to Matt. Matt quickly wiped his eyes before turning to Emily. They had a child to save right now. He'd deal with the rest later.

"What's she got?" Matt asked. Emily studied Matt a moment before answering. She'd talk to him later.

"Lia was able to isolate the background noise. She knows where the boy is being held."

"Well what are we still doing here? Let's go!" Matt took off towards the rental car they'd be given, Emily following right behind him.

------------------------------------

"You two must be exhausted," Lia said as she flopped on the bed in the hotel room her and Emily shared.

"I think we all are." Emily sighed as she sat down next to Matt on the couch. Matt didn't think it was possible for a woman to be any more beautiful than Emily was tonight. The way she handled his father showing up announced really touched him. Matt felt his eyes well up with tears again. As much as he hated his father, he didn't realize how much he also missed him. Matt blinked his eyes rapidly willing away the tears. Fortunately Emily had her eyes closed, relaxing. Matt looked over at the bed and smiled. Lia had passed out. Matt nudged Emily.

"Look at Lia," He whispered. Emily smiled. Lia had turned out to be an amazing person. Full of spunk and personality. Emily knew they'd soon become best friends.

"I'm starving. How bout we go to your room and order some room service?" Emily looked at Matt and immediately regretted asking that. 'Yeah great idea Emily! Let's go the room of the guy you can barely keep your hands off of!' She silently yelled at herself. Matt saw the look on her face but held back his laughter, not wanting to wake up Lia.

"It's no problem. I'm starving myself. It's been a really long day." Matt stood up and made his way back to his room, knowing Emily was right behind him.

--------------------------------------

"That was the best room service I've ever had!" Matt pat his stomach and then stretched. Emily laughed.

"It was good but not the best. I think you were so hungry McDonalds would've been the best thing you've ever tasted!" Emily cleared away the trash and wheeled the room service cart by the door. She sat on the bed and propped herself against the headboard. Matt climbed on the other side and did the same. He turned to look at Emily.

"Thanks for tonight by the way."

"What are you talking about?" Emily was genuinely confused.

"For..for my dad. I know it was hard for you to see him. I hate him for what he did to your family as well as mine. But I gotta admit I never realized how much I missed him." Matt dropped his head and looked down at the bed.

"Matt, it's ok to miss your dad. I don't hate him...I just..I don't understand why either of our parents did what they did. And I really don't understand the reason for them forbidding us to see one another. But that's all in the past. Honestly it made me realize how much I miss my own parents. I forgive my mom for what she did. It's still hard but I do forgive her..." Emily and Matt let themselves be lost in their thoughts for a few more minutes.

"So..." Matt trailed off. He suddenly realized how close he was to Emily. 24 hours ago he had almost kissed her. Matt found himself wanting to kiss her again. It took every ounce of restraint he had in him to not attack her right there.

Emily knew the struggle Matt was having as the same thoughts bombarded her. Their hips were just barely touching but Emily felt her body start to respond. Emily tried to take deep breaths without being too obvious. Emily started to wonder how she was going to be able to work with Matt if every time he was around she felt like a teenager again! 'Our job requires many overnight trips...Is it gonna be like this every time?'

"Matt, I don't think I can do this!" Emily blurted out before she lost her courage.

"What are talking about?" It was Matt's turn to be confused.

"This...I don't know what happened Matt, but..." Emily blushed but forced herself to continue.

"You were always my best friend growing up. We did everything together. Seeing you again after all these years has been great but...Matt I'm attracted to you...Just looking at you brings out these feelings I never thought I'd have." Emily finally shifted on the bed and looked at Matt. To her amazement he was smiling at her!

"Are you smiling?" Emily asked Matt, not believing what she was seeing. Matt couldn't help it though. His face refused to drop the goofy grin.

"There is nothing funny about this! Matt I'm serious. This is too hard. I'm going to do something I regret and we're going to.." Emily was cut off by Matt's lips suddenly crashing into hers. It took her about two seconds to realize what was happening and another millisecond to decide the h with it. She wrapped her arms around Matt's neck and pulled him closer to her. Matt wrapped his arms around Emily's waist and pulled her close, needing to feel every part of her. They shared the most breaktaking kiss either one had ever experienced. Matt pulled away first suddenly remembering his need for air. They held each other close not wanting to part. Matt trailed his hand lightly over Emily's side and rested his hand on her hip. Emily felt butterflies in her stomach. Matt tilted her chin up so he could look into her eyes.

"The moment I saw you in Cheryl's office I couldn't stop thinking about you. I always thought you were pretty. For a geek." Matt grinned.

"Seriously though, Em, I couldn't take my eyes off of you. I never thought I'd see you again and when I did I couldn't believe the feelings I was having. You were so gorgeous and every time I see you, it seems you're even more beautiful then the last time."

This time Emily initiated the kiss and blew Matt away. Their bodies molded together each getting more desperate. Emily broke the kiss and straddled Matt, then leaned back in for more. Matt smiled to himself knowing this evening would be one to remember.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Emily woke up, and yawned slightly. Did that really happen she thought. She confirmed her thoughts when she saw Matt lying beside her. Her first thought was that they had made a horrible mistake, that neither could take back. He was her best friend, and they had just slept together.   
"What's the matter?" Matt asked, as he grabbed hold of her body and pulled her closer to him.  
"I'm wondering if we made a mistake," Emily said, needing to hear from him that they hadn't.  
"You think last night was a mistake?" Matt asked, feeling a bit hurt.  
"Well, part of me does, I mean. We were best friends, now we're partners, how is this going to work?" Emily asked.  
"Emily, all that matters is if you want it to work," Matt said, simply.  
"I'm not sure," Emily said, she hated when she doubted herself.  
Matt looked at her, and smiled slightly. She was so cute when she was having an argument with herself.

_Beginning of Flashback_

_  
"Matt I'm not sure about this," Emily said, as they climbed aboard one of the largest watercoasters ever.  
"Oh come on Em, it's a watercoaster, it cannot be that bad," Matt said, pulling her the rest of the way into the innertube.  
"It's just, I don't like heights," Emily said, as the ride began.  
"Yeah, well, it was your idea to ride it," Matt said, as he held onto the rope in front of him, as they started down the first drop.  
"Yeah, can I get off," Emily asked, knowing she couldn't.  
"Your not going to puke are you?" Matt asked, as he made a nasty face.  
"No, well, um...no, I don't know," Emily said, as she started to cry, she hadn't being unsure.  
'Come on Em, you can do this, it's just a little water ride' she told herself.  
Matt watched her in awe, as she argued with herself over whether was going to puke or not.  
"Hey, Em," Matt said, pushing on her arm.  
"What?" she looked up and saw Matt standing above her.  
"The ride, it's over," Matt said, helping her out of the ride.  
"I made it," she said, happy with herself.  
"Yeah you did, and look, no puke, thank god," Matt said, as he flopped his arm around her shoulders.  
"That was fun," she said, as she yawned.  
"Yeah, but I think it's time to go," Matt said, looking at his watch.  
"Man, it feels like we just got here," Emily said, gearing up for another round on the water monsoon.  
"Yeah, well, lets not push how much that stomach of your can take," he said, as he laughed lightly._

_  
End of Flashback_

"Hey Em," Matt said, rubbing her bare shoulder.  
"Huh, yeah," Emily said, completely oblivious to what was going on.  
"We'd better get ready," Matt said.  
"Matt wait," Emily said.  
"What?" he asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.  
"I don't think I can be your partner anymore," Emily said, what she had tried to say the night before.  
"You don't want to be my partner anymore?" Matt asked, feeling hurt.  
"No I do, but how will it work, being partners, after this," Emily asked.  
"Em, we'll find a way," Matt said as he rubbed her knee.  
"I'm not so sure it will be so easy," Emily said.  
"Okay, how about if we make a promise, no one else can know," Matt said.  
"Okay," Emily said, knowing it would be harder than that.  
"Em, trust me okay," Matt said, leaning down, kissing her lips, and her cheek, leaving her face feel hot, and flushed.  
"I trust you," she said, as she got out of the bed.  
Matt turned around and saw her standing in front of him, in all of her glory.  
"Do we, have anytime before we have to leave?" Matt asked.  
"Oh, I think we might," Emily said, feeling a bit inspired.  
Matt grabbed her, and laid her on the bed. This was sure to be an interesting day. 


	12. Chapter 12

CHAPTER TWELVE

Lia woke up late that morning. It took her a moment to register her surroundings and remember where she was. _'Where's Emily?'_ She thought to herself. The clock was flashing 11 am.

"Oh man! I'm gonna miss our flight!" Lia shouted to an empty room.

"Why didn't Emily wake me?"

In the next room...

"Oh my God, Matt!" Emily jumped out of bed as she realized what time it was. They decided to go for round two (or was it three?) and completely lost track of time.

"Matt we are going to miss our flight!" Suddenly another realization dawned on Emily. She brought her hand to her mouth in shock, not really sure what to do.

"Lia." She barely whispered but Matt heard her and his eyes went wide.

"We are so busted!" Matt ran his hands through his hair.

"No, wait. Lia must not be up yet or else she would have come over here looking for me. Matt you call and change our flights. Tell them we overslept. I'll go take care of Lia." With that Emily threw on her clothes and ran to the room down the hall.

Emily took a deep breath and knocked on the door. She had forgotten to grab the room key on her way out last night.

"Emily! Where have you been? We are gonna miss our flight!" Lia was running around the hotel room frantically.

"Oh yeah we all kind of overslept this morning. Matt changed our flight to later." Emily smiled trying to appear nonchalant. Lia finally stopped running around and sat on the edge of the bed.

"So where were you then? Did you get any sleep?" Lia eyed Emily suspiciously.

"You were out just a few minutes after we got here. So Matt and I went to get something to eat. I crashed on the couch in his room." Emily shrugged her shoulders as if to say no big deal.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to crash like that. I kind of took over the bed didn't I?" Lia smiled sheepishly.

"No it's ok! I would've done the same if you hadn't beat me to it first." Emily smiled at her, relieved Lia didn't pick up on her rendezvous with Matt.

"So when's our flight then?" Lia asked as she stood up.

"You know, I'm not sure. We'll have to ask Matt." As if on cue they heard a light knock on the door. Matt stood outside wondering if Lia had realized what happened.

"Hey Matt." Emily smiled to let him know they were in the clear.

"Hey ladies. You all packed?" Matt asked.

"I am but I'm not sure about Emily." Lia looked at Matt then back at Emily.

"I never unpacked anything so yeah I'm ready." Emily picked up her bag and slung it on her shoulder.

"Let's go then!" Matt held out each arm and the ladies laughed as they each took hold.

"What time is our flight?" Lia let go of Matt's arm so they didn't get stuck in the doorway.

"2:30, so I figure we have time to get a quick bite to eat." Matt said then leaned towards Emily.

"That was a close one." He whispered in her ear, sending shivers all over her body.

"So Lia, know any good places to eat?" Emily tried to distract herself from the closeness of Matt.

"I thought you'd never ask!" Lia grinned already reaching for her laptop.

-----------------------------------------------------------

6 hours later Matt pulled into Emily's driveway. Cheryl agreed to let them have a day off. They had, after all, performed amazingly these last two cases. _'You have no idea Cheryl!'_ Matt had thought to himself. Emily and Matt's first experience together had been amazing. The best sex he's ever had. But it went beyond anything physical. Matt and Emily shared a deep soulful connection. Matt knew it was because they had been friends for so long.

"Are we going to get out of the car?" Emily was watching Matt wondering what he was thinking about. Matt was about to answer when his cell phone started ringing.

"That better not be Cheryl!" Matt angrily flipped open his phone.

"Flannery," He didn't even try to hide his contempt.

"Matt?" A familiar voice rang through and Matt's face fell. 'Not now!' he thought to himself.

"Dad.." Emily looked at Matt and raised her eyebrows in question. He waved her off and climbed out of the car.

"Hey son. I know you said you'd call but I got thought you'd call sooner then you didn't and I...well I got worried. I'm glad to hear you're ok." Joe Flannery rambled on hoping his son wouldn't hang up on him.

"Yeah, we missed our first flight so we had to catch another one. We just got in." Matt's stomach was in knots. He was not prepared to have this talk right now but he wanted desperately to hear his dad's voice again. They had been a tight knit family up until...the incident. And having his family ripped apart hurt almost as much as being forbidden to see Emily. Matt was filled with hope at the chance to rekindle what had been lost. He only wished Emily would do the same. In their line of work they came to realize just how important family was.

_Flashback_

_Matt and Emily lay on the sandy beach looking up at the stars. It was the last day of spring break. Their parents agreed to let them spend a week at the beach to celebrate their 17th birthdays._

_"Matt?" Emily asked not taking her eyes off the stars._

_"Yeah, Em?"_

_"You think we'll be friends forever?"_

_"You betcha!" Matt smiled._

_"Look at these stars. It just reminds me how small we are and how big the universe is. How do you know we'll be always be friends?"_

_"Because..." Matt thought for a second. Only Emily could take a beautiful thing like star gazing and turn it into an analysis._

_"Ever since that first day I met you 9 years ago I knew we'd be friends forever. We are soulmates Em. Not in that romantic cheesy way, you're not my type!" Matt half-joked eliciting a laugh from his friend._

_"And because...you're my best friend and I love you." Matt smiled at Emily and then looked back up at the vast sky._

_"I love you too you big lug!" Emily laughed. After a few more minutes she stood up and brushed the sand off her backside._

_"Come on. We gotta leave early tomorrow." Emily grabbed Matt's hand and pulled him to his feet._

_Neither expected what they would be returning to the following day. The day their parents would shatter their lives forever._

_END FLASHBACK_

"Ok. Yeah Dad. I'll call you later. I promise!" Matt hung up his cell and walked inside. He had talked to his dad for nearly 20 minutes. Emily had immediately gone inside to give him privacy.

"Hey." Matt said lightly.

"Hi. How'd it go?" Emily put down the magazine she was reading and studied her...friend.

"Better then I expected." Matt was reluctant to go into any more detail. His father had after all slept with her mother breaking the two families forever.

"Its ok Matt. Really. I'm happy for you. I know how important family is to you."

"It's not important to you?" Matt saw his chance and went for it.

"I don't think I'll ever reconnect with my folks. My dad wants nothing to do with either me or my mom. I can understand him hating my mom but...it's like he resents me because I was such good friends with you. Anyway, I don't think I want anything to do with my mom either." Emily picked the magazine back up indicating she was done talking but Matt apparently didn't take the hint.

"I know Emily. This whole situation sucks. But after everything we've seen and heard and been through doesn't it make you realize how important having family around is? Doesn't it make you miss all that stuff everyone gets to experience? Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners with everyone gathered around...Easter egg hunts with the kids?"

"Easter egg hunts with the kids?" Emily laughed at that last one.

"Yeah you know with all the cousins and stuff." Matt grinned. Emily did miss all those things. Except maybe the Easter egg hunts.

"I know but Matt it's so different. You were always close with your Dad. My family just kind of co existed. We never did anything together. I don't think that would change now just because we haven't seen each other in 10 years." Emily sighed suddenly feeling very sad.

"But how do you know unless you try? If your mom wants nothing to do with you, what are you losing? You don't care remember?" Matt held his breath. He didn't know why he was pushing her so much. He just wanted Emily to have her family around again and be able to experience those things.

"I'll think about it ok?" Emily threw her hands up in defeat.

"Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to push. I just want you to be happy." Matt pulled Emily in to a hug.

"I know, Matt, but I am happy just being with you again." Emily felt herself relax against him.

"But I promise I will think about it. Ok?"

"Ok. I'll take it." Matt smiled as he bent his head and captured Emily's lips. They slowly made their way to her bedroom, intending on enjoy every last minute of their day off.


	13. Chapter 13

Matt paced the bedroom floor, Emily laid in the bed, still asleep. He was thankful for that, it would delay the fury he was about to receive. He did need to wake her. They would have company soon, and he was almost certain that she wouldn't want to be seen like that. Even though he didn't mind if she walked around like that all day long.

"Em, hey," he said, shaking her slightly.

"Hey," she said, a smile creeping crossed her lips.

"Look, um...your going to need to get dressed," Matt said, rubbing her bare shoulder.

"And why exactly would I want to do that?" Emily asked.

"Because, someone is coming over and I'm certain you'd want to be dressed, when they arrive," Matt said, as he smiled sheepishly.

"Who is coming?" Emily asked, hoping no one would interfere with they're day in relaxing.

"Um...it's...a...it's a surprise," Matt said, thinking quickly.

Emily grinned, at how flustered he got sometimes, "Good surprise or bad surprise?" Emily asked seductively.

"Um...wait and see," Matt said, a smile plastered on his face.

"Hmmm... I think I like where this is going," Emily said, as she lightly pressed her lips against his.

"Uh, Huh," Matt said, trying to contain control over the situation.

"I guess, I'd better get dressed," Emily said, making her way for the bathroom.

-----------------------------------------------------

Matt sat on the couch, and awaited Emily return from her shower, when he heard a light knocking on the door. He got up to answer it, and tried to smile at the person in front of him.

"I thought I said I'd call you when she woke up," Matt said.

"Yeah, well I was getting worried," the person said.

"Yeah, well none of us have had a lot of sleep lately. We just finished two cases back to back, one of which causing us to fly to Denver," Matt said.

"Well, you said it wouldn't be much longer," the person said.

"Yeah, well I said I would call, did you think I was lying?" Matt asked.

"I don't know, I know you don't really like me too much," the person said.

"It's not so much that I don't like you. It's more of the fact that you helped tear my family apart. Oh and you kept me from seeing Em, you knew how much we meant to each other," Matt said, not realizing his voice had raised so much.

------------------------------------------------------

"Hey Matt, you okay," he heard Emily call from the bathroom.

"Yep, fine," he called back.

"Well, I thought I heard you..." Emily trailed off as she walked into the living room, to find her mother sitting on her couch.

"Em before..." Matt started but Emily wouldn't let him finish.

"What did you do?" Emily asked clearly upset.

"I'm sorry, but I wanted you to be happy," Matt said, a tear barely visible in his eyes.

"I need to speak to you," she pointed at Matt before continuing, "You need to leave, I am not ready to see you. To be honest I'm not sure if I'll ever be ready, but please leave," Emily finished before swiping a few tears of her own.

"Okay, I'll leave, I just wanted to tell you I missed you," Sarah said, before getting up from the couch.

"You miss me, well you should have thought of that before you tore two families apart. You should of thought about that before you took Matt from me. You told me the day I left that I was selfish for leaving, because you had nothing. I wasn't selfish mom, you were. You were the one that had to have Matt's dad, and you were the one that turned around and took my only friend from me. You want to know why I can't be around you, that's why," Emily said, before going into her bedroom.

"You better go," Matt said, shutting the door and locking the door behind her.

------------------------------------------------------

"Em, I'm sorry," he said, making his way to her bedroom.

He tried to open the door, but it was locked.

"Emily please open this door, we need to talk," he pleaded with her.

He heard the lock move, and assumed that was clearance for him to enter the room.

"Emily, I'm so sorry," Matt said, tears cascading down his face.

"Your sorry, you called her. You called her behind my back. How do you think that makes me feel. I told you I would put some thought to it, but you couldn't leave it alone. You said you were sorry for pushing me, but you still pushed didn't you," Emily yelled, tears falling freely from her eyes.

"Emily please, this is hard for both of us," Matt said.

"Yeah, but you have the ability to talk to your father. I told you I forgave my mother, and I had. Or that's at least what I told myself. Everyday, I told myself, that she didn't mean for it happen, but I was lying to myself," Emily said, her head falling into her hands.

"I'm so sorry," Matt said, putting her arms around her waist.

She pulled away at first, but he pulled her into his body. She laid her head on his chest, and cried. Matt had only seen Emily cry like this one other time, when they both learned the reason that they're parents had left.

_Beginning of Flashback_

_"Hey Em," Matt said, void of any emotion._

_"Matt," Emily said, looking up at him, her eyes full of tears._

_"Hey, come here," Matt said, pulling her close._

_"Did your dad..."Emily trailed off, she knew he would understand her even if she did attempt to talk._

_"Yeah, I can't believe he would do something like that," Matt said, holding her tightly._

_Emily cried in his arms for almost an hour, before she fell asleep. He carried her, back into her house, and laid her down on her bed. He left her with with these words._

_Em,_

_No matter what, I'm here for you. Your my best friend, my only true friend. Remember we're soulmates, meant to be friends forever._

_Matt_

_It just so happened, that was the last day they saw each other. Without another word, Matt and his father were gone the next morning. Matt didn't know, but Emily cried the whole day._

_End of Flashback_

"Matt, I'm sorry," Emily finally said, pulling back from his embrace.

"Why are you sorry," Matt looked at her, his eyes full of sorrow.

"Because I yelled at you, when you where just trying to help," Emily said.

"I know why you did," Matt said, as he looked at his feet.

"Wait here a minute," Emily said, as she went rummaging through the box on her bedroom floor.

"Okay," he said, as he sat on the end of her bed.

"Here," she said, handing him a tiny slip of paper. It was torn a bit, and was changing color with age.

He opened it up, to find the last words she heard from him.

"My note," he said, looking up to her.

"Yeah, I thought you deserved to know that those words got me through everyday of my life. I was really depressed, and upset when I learned you moved away. On days when I felt worse, I'd pull out that tiny piece of paper, and read those words, and felt like a new person," Emily said, a shy smile creeping across her lips.

"Come here," he said, pulling her onto his lap, and crashing his lips into hers.


	14. Chapter 14

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

"Hi Mom." Emily sat down in the chair opposite her mother. After much persuasion from Matt, Emily finally agreed to meet with her mom. They decided on a coffee shop just a few blocks from Emily's house. Her mother had come all this way, Emily owed it to her to at least try and talk to her.

"Hi sweetheart." Sarah smiled at Emily wishing they had done this years ago. The pair sat in silence for a few moments.

"Ok here's the deal. I don't want to talk about anything that happened years ago. I'm not ready for that. Honestly, I don't even care how it happened. It happened and nothing is going to change that. Let's just talk about things now." Emily glanced around the coffee shop, thankful it was mostly empty.

"Ok. Fair enough. Tell me about you and Matt."

Emily choked on her coffee nearly spitting it everywhere in the process. She dabbed at her mouth with a napkin.

"Well there's nothing to tell really. I transferred to LA about 4 weeks ago for a change of scenery. The boss walked in with my new partner who turned out to be Matt. We were both so shocked. I don't think he would've recognized me if Cheryl hadn't said my name." Emily smiled as she remembered their reunion.

"So you aren't sleeping together then?" Sarah blurted out. This time Emily did spit coffee everywhere.

"Mom!" Emily struggled to regain her composure, not really sure how to answer.

"I don't think that's really any of your business." Emily answered trying to avoid the question. She could feel her cheeks turning red.

"I know...I just don't want to see you get hurt like I was. That's all." Sarah rested her hand on top of her daughter's.

"Well there's nothing to worry about. I'm not sleeping with him, ok?" Emily bit her lip. She just lied to her mom. Something she's never done before. But Matt and Emily had agreed to keep it a secret and she knew her mom would only disapprove.

"Ok honey." Sarah smiled but sensed her daughter wasn't being truthful. 'I'll just have to find out for myself.'

------------------------------------------------------------------------

FLASHBACK

"Hey Mom! Look at this skirt!" Emily held up a cute little red mini skirt and twirled around.

"Don't you think it's a little short?" Sarah frowned.

"No way! It's perfect. Can I get it mom? Please?" Emily stuck out her bottom lip and gave her mom puppy dog eyes.

"Oh all right!" Emily's mom threw her hands up in the air. She could never win against Emily's puppy dog eyes.

"Thanks! You're the best!" Emily smiled and gave her mom a quick hug.

END FLASHBACK

"Matt thanks for making me talk to my mom. It was awkward at first but once we settled in we had a really nice chat." Emily smiled at Matt and contemplated telling him what her mom had said.

"Hey that's great!" Matt grinned.

"See? I knew once you sat down and talked you'd be able to work things out." Matt raised his arms in the air in triumph.

"Well don't get too sure of yourself there!" Emily swatted Matt on the butt.

"You want to know what else she said?" Emily bit her lip nervously.

"What?"

"She asked if we were sleeping together."

"WHAT?!" Matt's eyes were as big as saucers.

"What did you tell her?" Matt sat down on the couch.

"After I spit my coffee everywhere? I told her no." Emily watched as Matt laughed.

"You spit coffee everywhere? I would've paid to see that one." Matt smiled but felt slightly hurt. 'Why wouldn't she tell her mom the truth?'

"So what did you do while I was gone?" Emily joined Matt on the couch and climbed between his legs, sitting with her back leaning against his chest. Matt wrapped his arms around Emily and held her close.

"I missed you." Matt captured Emily's lips as she tilted her head up to look at him. As the kiss started to deepen Emily regretfully pulled away.

"I have to eat something first." She explained to Matt. His eyes were filled with desire for her.

"Ok. Well I haven't gone grocery shopping for a few weeks so we'll have to order something." Matt pulled Emily off him and went to find some takeout menus.

"We've got pizza Chinese or Mexican.." Matt held up the take out menus for Emily to look at.

"Hmmm, how bout Chinese?" Emily pointed to the pink menu.

"Eh, I don't know. I don't think I'm in the mood for Chinese." Matt scrunched his face up.

"Please?!" Emily used the puppy dog eyes she had perfected many years ago.

"That's not fair. You know no one can resist your puppy dog eyes." Matt bent down and placed a soft kiss on Emily's lips. The gentleness surprised Emily.

"Mmmm. You know I think I changed my mind." Emily grinned at Matt then pulled him into a passionate, breath taking kiss.

"We can eat later."


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

Matt woke up the next morning, and felt Emily snuggled tightly into arms. He smiled softly, he loved the way they fit together almost perfectly. He turned only slightly, to turn off the alarm clock that was about to interupt this feeling of perfection. He never wanted this feeling to end, but he knew that they had to get up and go to work. He had always loved his job, but right now his job was the enemy. It was threatening to come between him, and his feeling of perfection.

"Matt, it's time to get up," Emily mumbled, knowing he was awake.

"Do we have to, wouldn't it be more fun to stay here all day?" Matt asked.

"Mmmmhmmm...with how tempting that sounds, we can't forget about our jobs," Emily as she turned to face Matt.

"But I don't wanna go," Matt said, whining slightly.

"You know I'd love to stay here, in bed all day, but we can't," Emily said, as she scooted farther away until she was fully out of the bed.

"Gah, fine," Matt said throwing his hands up in defeat.

"How about if I make it up to you," Emily said, as she got her clothes ready, so she could take a shower.

"Mmmmhmmm...what's that?" Matt asked, needing to know more.

"Well," Emily started as she leaned up against him, breathing into his ear, "I do have to shower...we also get a lunch break," she finished as she watch a smile creeping across Matt's face.

"Deal," Matt said, picking her up, and running into the bathroom, Emily giggling the whole way.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Matt and Emily walked off the elevator, and automatically ran into Lia.

"Oh hey guys," Lia said, noticing the smiles that seemed plastured onto their faces.

"Hey Lia," they both said in unison, and then giggled lightly.

"You guys look extra chipper today," Lia said laughing lightly.

"Yeah, we...uh, got extra sleep," Matt said, laughing as he went.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

They made they're way farther into the buliding, and ran into Cheryl right outside her office.

"Oh good, you two are here," Cheryl said, motioning for them to step into her office.

'Uh oh' Emily thought.

"Please have a seat," Cheryl said motioning to the two chairs in front of her desk.

The two sat down, almost unwillingly, fear showing slightly on both of they're faces.

"You two did such beautiful work the last two cases. I just really wanted to tell you that," Cheryl said, a big smile on her face.

"Oh, well we thought we were in trouble," Emily said, laughing.

"Nope, just praise, oh and you got to fill out your paperwork from the Denver case," Cheryl said, handing each a file.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

'Phew', Emily thought, that was a close one.

They sat down in there corrorsponding seats, and started to go over the files so they could fill out their paperwork.

Matt looked at a page before he looked behind him at Emily. 'God she is so beautiful. I mean she's beautiful everyday, but today,' Matt stopped himself in mid-thought. 'Come on man, you gotta get your paperwork,' Matt told himself, as he sighed, knowing getting through the day was going to be tough.

Emily got through three pages, and could feel Matt's eyes on her every so often. She had stopped herself so far, from looking at Matt, or thinking about Matt, but that was starting to go right out the window. 'God he smells so good,' she told herself. 'Come on Emily get a grip, you got paperwork,' she told herself, lowering her head to keep her goofy smile out of view.

"Are you hiding, or is you paperwork that interesting?" Matt whispered in her ear.

"I'm hiding, how about you?" Emily asked.

"Mmmmmhmmmm...wondering how comfortable the beds in the hotel next door are," Matt said, and watched as Emily's cheeks turned red.

"See, I knew I could get you," Matt said, as he turned back around to his paperwork.


	16. Chapter 16

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

_FLASHBACK_

_"Matt? What are we doing?" Emily hissed at her friend as he pulled her through the hallway._

_"What's it look like? We're cutting class." Matt whispered back with a huge grin on his face._

_"No! Matt I can't. Let me go!" Emily tried to wiggle free but was unsuccessful._

_"Would you stop it already? I have a surprise for you." This got Emily's attention._

_"A Surprise?" She tried to think of what Matt could possibly have for her. They only had a couple hundred more feet before they reached their destination. Matt pulled Emily along in a Mission Impossible fashion, ducking as they passed doors and windows._

_"Phew. That was close." Matt pretended to wipe sweat off his brow, then pulled out two tickets from his back pocket. Emily gasped realizing what the surprise was._

_"You didn't?!" Emily squealed grabbing the tickets out of Matt's hand._

_"Yep. Two tickets to see Bon Jovi. But we have to leave now if we're gonna make the concert. Its about a 6 hour drive."_

_"Matt, we won't get back till at least 3 am. How are we suppose to explain to our parents where we have been!!"_

_"Chill out. I told my parents I was sleeping over at John's house. Now you just have to tell your folks you're sleeping at one of your girlfriends house's." Matt seemed to have planned this all out down to the very last detail._

_"Thanks. You're so awesome." Emily gave Matt a quick hug before running over to the pay phone. All she had to do was tell her parents she was sleeping over Alyson's house and they'd be home free. Emily smiled to herself as she thought about what Matt probably went through to get those tickets. 'I have the most amazing friend in the whole world,' she thought to herself. This would be an evening she would remember forever._

_END FLASHBACK_

"Matt would you stop it?" Emily laughed. He was walking down the FBI halls acting like he was on a top secret mission.

"Aw come on. You're no fun. If we're gonna sneak out to a hotel we should at least sneak back in." Matt grinned.

"Shhh. Are you trying to announce to it to the whole world??" Emily looked around to make sure no one had heard. Matt knew they needed to keep their relationship a secret but he couldn't help but feel a little hurt.

"I"m sorry Matt. You know I'd love to shout it from the rooftop but we can't. I think we make a great team and I don't want to see that jeopardized." Emily spoke softly. Matt grabbed her hand and pulled her into a nearby conference room.

"Emily, I care so much about you. I've always loved you as a friend. Now that we've become more...I find myself head over heels for you. I can't stop thinking about you. I'd love to just walk out there and announce it to the entire FBI office. But we can't and I understand that. I just feel like you don't feel the same as I do..." Matt let go of Emily's hand and turned away.

"Matt..I..." After she regained her composure, Emily walked over to Matt.

"I love you, Matt. And not just as a friend. I...I'm just scared. I've never felt this way about anyone before. And now that I've reconnected with my mom..I already know she would disapprove. She told me as much that day we met for coffee. I'm afraid of losing you again..." Emily brushed away the tears that started to fall. Matt wanted nothing more then to kiss her.

"Emily..I'm sorry." Matt pulled her against his chest and held her tight. They stood like that for several minutes, unaware that they were being watched.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Ok. So we have a slight problem." Matt grabbed a beer out of the fridge.

"What?"

"Both our parents want to have dinner tonight."

"Ok...So what's the problem?" Emily was a little confused.

"There is no way I'm inviting both of them over! I'm not ready for that. I never want them in the same room again. Especially now that..we're together." Matt shivered.

"It's just too weird to think about..." He plopped down on his couch. Emily thought for a moment.

"Well I'm pretty sure my mom isn't expecting you to be there, and your dad probably isn't' expecting me to be there so why don't we just eat separately." Emily hated the idea of being away from Matt for the night.

"Yeah, we don't really have a choice. It's just after 7:00 so I guess I should get ready..." Matt was hoping Emily might cancel her plans. He just wanted to curl up on the couch with her and watch a movie.

"Well you know, I have to shower...and you have to shower..." Emily let her voice trail off as she seductively ran her hand down Matt's arm.

"Mmm. If only you knew what you did to me." Matt grabbed Emily and carried her off to the shower.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Thanks for dinner, Mom. You really didn't have to pay." Emily buckled her seat belt and started the car.

"I know sweetheart but I wanted to." Sarah buckled her own seat belt and settled into the seat. They rode in silence the rest of the way to the hotel. It had been an awkward night to say the least. Sarah confronted Emily again about Matt.

Earlier that night...

"Mom I already told you I'm not sleeping with him. Will you please drop it?" Emily pleaded with Sarah.

"No. I won't drop it because I think you're lying to me. And you're making a big mistake. That boy is just like his father. He'll end up breaking your heart like Charles broke mine." Sarah refused to drop the subject and Emily was reaching her breaking point.

"What do you want me to say mom?" Emily raised her voice. She set her fork down and took a deep breath.

"Look I don't want to talk about it anymore. Let's just finish eating."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Emily lay in bed later that night, staring at the ceiling. She had spent every night the past week with Matt and it felt weird being in bed alone. Emily wondered if Matt's night had gone any better. And she couldn't help but wonder how much Matt was like his dad. _'Stop it Emily. Your mom was just trying to get to you. You've known Matt forever. He's nothing like his scumball father.'_ She picked up the phone and dialed Matt's number.

"Hello?" answered a very drunk Matt.

"Hi. It's me."

"Hey baby! How are you?" Emily could heard someone in the background.

"Is your dad still there?" Emily asked him.

"Yeah, we had a great night Em. I told him about us." Emily froze. Did he just...

"What?" She finally managed to answer.

"Yeah he's cool with it. Said he always thought one day we'd end up together." Matt laughed at something his father said.

"Matt! I can't believe you told him. Didn't you even think... You know what I can't do this right now." Emily slammed the phone down. _'I can't believe he told his father! What is wrong with him!'_

Part of Emily felt a little relieved but she was still furious. They had an agreement. _'How could he do this?'_ Her anger quickly diminished and was replaced with sadness. All she wanted was to be with Matt. But every time she thought about it, all she could see was her mom's disappointed face and hear her words, "He'll end up breaking your heart." She could only imagine what Cheryl would have to say. They'd only been partners for a few weeks and already were getting themselves into trouble. Emily jumped as her phone started to ring.

"Hello?" She already knew it was Matt.

"Look Emily I'm sorry.Things were going so well. We were reminiscing about old times and talking about some of the crazy stuff me and you did as kids. It just felt like the right time."

"No, I'm sorry. I'm glad you had a good night, really. Things just didn't go as well with my mom. I don't think I can do this Matt. I can't reconnect with my her. She knows we are sleeping together, even if I refuse to admit it. She's already trying to break us up Matt. I can't deal with her right now." Emily felt like a hormonal teenager again as tears streamed down her cheeks. She heard Matt say something to his dad.

"Emily I'm going to come over. I don't want you to be alone tonight."

"Matt you're drunk. You are not going anywhere!" Emily insisted.

"Ok... well then you come to me." Matt tripped over something and sent the phone flying across the room.

_'Oh jeez!'_ Emily thought to herself. _'I better get over there before he kills himself.'_ She hopped out of bed and threw on some clothes. 'This man drives me crazy!' She started to crack up as she imagined a drunk Matt flying across the room. _'I would've paid to see that one.'_ She grabbed her keys and headed for the door.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

Emily sat right beside Matt on his couch. He had fallen asleep an hour ago, and she didn't have the heart to wake him up. Thankfully by the time she got there, his father was gone. She only hoped he would keep they're secret. She moved slightly to resituate herself, so that she to could get some sleep. It was nearing one, and they had to be up in a few hours for work.

"Hey, I'm sorry," Matt said, as he slurred his words just a bit.

"I know Matt, I just, I'm not ready for everyone to know," Emily said.

"I know, and I don't think he'll tell anyone," Matt said.

"Let's just go to bed," Emily said, as she rose up from the couch.

"I have an idea of what else we can do," Matt said, a smirk crossed his face.

"Yeah, no," she said, as she watched the smirk quickly fade.

"Why not," he said, in a whiny voice.

"Because it is almost one, and we have to be up in about five and a half hours for work," Emily refusing to budge.

"Okay, okay," Matt said, throwing his hands up in defeat.

He was just happy to have her with him, have her close to him.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Emily woke up the next morning to a startle. She rolled over and glanced at the clock, which read ten till six. She lay there for a minute longer, when she heard a loud pounding on Matt's door. She rolled back over and faced Matt.

"Matt, someone is at the door," she said, shaking him.

"Huh, what," Matt said, groggily.

"Someone is pounding on you door," Emily said, again, just before they pounded again.

"I got it," Matt said, scurrying out of bed.

He walked slowly into the living room, and opened the door.

"Dad, Sarah, can I help you?" Matt said, loud enough for Emily to hear.

"I know my daughter is here, now where is she?" Sarah nearly screamed at Matt.

"What makes you think she's here?" Matt asked, trying to play innocent.

"Your father told me," Sarah said.

"You talked to her. You told me you don't talk to her anymore," Matt said, getting upset with his father.

"Well, I might have told her your secret," Joesph said.

"No, wait, what," Matt said, his anger growing ever so slightly.

"Well once the liqour wore off, I realized the mistake you two were making," Joesph said.

"Our mistake," Emily yelled, having enough of the converstation.

"Yes honey, I told you Matt's no good for you," Sarah said.

"He's no good for me, how would you know," Emily said, her anger about to reach it's boiling point.

"I just don't want you to get hurt like I did. I told you, Matt's like his father," Sarah said, crossing her arms, as if to make a point.

"Okay, first off it's none of your business. Second of all I love Matt and he loves me, and that should be enough. Third of all, we aren't little kids anymore, you can't just show up here, and beat down our door, and tell us to break-up," Emily said crossing her arms more forcifully.

"Listen to me Emily, you may live on your own, but I am still your mother," Sarah said, pleading with her daughter.

"No, you did not just bring that out here. Maybe biologically your my mother, but needless to say mom you became just another person as soon as you crawled into bed with him," Emily said, almost regretting the words as soon as them came out.

"That's what I'm talking about. What if this thing between you don't work out. What if history repeats itself," Sarah said.

"It won't," Emily said.

"Look Emily, I know your upset but I see what your mother is saying," Joseph said.

Emily was about to open her mouth when Matt beat her to it.

"No dad, I've been trying really hard to get along with you. Needless to say it's been a little easier than I thought, but if you really think about it. Me hanging out with you doesn't happen without some sort of liqour involved. Why do you think that is, huh dad?" Matt said, nearly screaming at his father.

"I'm just saying," Joseph said.

"No, your just leaving, neither one of you are welcome to my house. Never again, you got that," Matt said.

"Emily he's going to break your heart, it's in his blood," Sarah screamed one last time.

"I've had it," Emily said, throwing her hands up.

"Em," Matt said, pleading with her with his eyes.

"I'm sorry," she said, as she grabbed her keys, and ran out the front door.

"Look what you did," Matt said, as he grabbed his keys and ran after her.

'Why did she have to be like this, oh probably cause she's always been like this,' Matt thought to himself.

_Beginning of Flashback_

_"Emily, slow down," Matt said, as he caught his breath for a minute, before he resumed running after his friend._

_"I can't Matt, just please leave me alone," Emily said, as she ran a little faster._

_He hated it when she was like this. He loved his best friend to death, but the girl could not face her problems._

_"Emily Elizabeth Lehman," Matt screamed, knowing she hated being called by her full name._

_"Matthew Joesph Flannery, you know I hate that," Emily said._

_"Yeah, well it worked didn't it," Matt said, a grin crossing his face._

_"What are you talking about?" Emily asked, before she realized that she had stopped running to confront him._

_"Man, had I known that would have worked, I'd had done it sooner," Matt said, smiling widely now._

_"You are such a jerk sometimes," Emily said, crossing her arms._

_"Emily I know what that girl said, hurt your feelings. That's what I'm here for, I mean that's kind of what I signed up for, when I decided to be your best friend," Matt said, as he through his arm around her shoulders._

_"I don't know why you put up with me," Emily said, as she leaned her head back slightly._

_"If I didn't who else would," Matt said, laughing slightly._

_"Haha, very funny," Emily said, smacking his arm lightly._

_End of Flashback_


	18. Chapter 18

"Matt!" Joe Flannery yelled after his son.

"Leave us alone dad and get off my property, both of you!" Matt stopped momentarily to tell his father off.

"I called you after I got to LA cause I wanted us to be a family. But I will not lose Emily again. You're not worth it. Now get out of here and out of my life once and for all." Matt screamed at his father not caring if he woke his neighbors up. Emily started her car and sped out of the driveway. Matt didn't know what else to do so he hopped in his car to chase after her. Matt's dad hopped in the passenger seat.

"Dad get out of my car now." Matt was tired of fighting with him. If only he had brought his gun out with him...

"No son I can't let you do this." Joe sat with his arms crossed refusing to move.

"If you don't get out of my car I will call the police. That'll look real good for you being on the Council." Matt resorted to bribery.

"You wouldn't call the police on me!"

"Watch me!" Matt pulled out his cell phone, fingers poised over the keys. Joe hung his head and opened the car door.

"I do love you son. I just want you to know that." He got out of the car and watched his son speed off. 'You're making a mistake, Matt'

_FLASHBACK_

_"Emily! Are you ok?" Matt hopped off his bike and rushed to his friends side._

_"No, I think I broke my arm." Matt looked at Emily's arm and felt sick to his stomach._

_"Uh yeah I think it's safe to assume its broken." Matt leaned over and picked Emily up._

_"What are you doing? I am perfectly capable of walking!" Emily kicked her feet trying to get Matt to put her down._

_"Stop it! Let me do this. For all we know you hurt your ankle too." Emily quieted down and leaned against Matt._

_"It hurts."_

_"Yeah I'm sure it does." Matt rubbed Emily's back as he carried her inside._

_END FLASHBACK_

Matt sat for a moment at the stop sign trying to remember which way Emily went. _'She probably headed back to her own apartment.'_ He turned on his signal and headed for Emily's.

"Oh come on!!" Matt yelled. This is the third light he hit. The roads were pretty much empty but the lights were seriously slowing him down.

"Finally!" Matt hit the accelerator. He drove another 5 minutes and then his heart stopped. _'No!'_ He slammed on the breaks and pulled off to the side of the road. Less than 500 feet in front of him lay a tangled mess of two cars. A black Mercedes and...

"Emily!" Matt jumped out of his car and raced off to the wreckage. The other car was a red Jeep, unmistakably Emily's. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed 911.

"Yeah there's been a bad accident. On the corner of 2nd and Vine. We need some help here now!" Matt slammed his phone shut.

"Emily!" Matt shouted tears streaming down his face. He surveyed the scene for a second before going in after her. Matt pulled open the driver's side door. Emily wasn't moving.

"Oh God Emily I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. I should've never called your mom. I should've never told my dad we were together." Matt unbuckled Emily's seat belt and lifted her out of the car. He knew he should leave her there. They'd been trained on this at the academy but he just couldn't. Matt lifted her gently and kneeled down on the side of the road, cradling Emily in his arms.

"Come on Emily. Stay with me baby. Stay with me." Matt brushed the hair out of Emily's face. Her eyes fluttered open.

"Emily! Oh Emily I'm so sorry. This is all my fault." Tears poured from Matt's eyes.

"Matt..." Emily whispered so softly Matt could barely hear her.

"It's...not...your...fault." A single tear rolled down Emily's cheek. Her eyes started to close.

"No Em stay with me. Help is on the way. Please Emily. I love you...I need you." Matt wiped his eyes with his free hand then pulled Emily even closer.

"Matt..."

"Shhh its ok. Don't say anything. Save your energy." Emily was fading fast. Matt felt helpless.

"Matt..." She repeated, barely a whisper. Matt leaned closer.

"I...love...you..." Her eyes closed and her body went lax.

"No Emily. Please don't leave me. Emily!" Matt shouted as his body was wracked with sobs. He bent down and kissed her lips over and over.

"Emily..." Matt held her close against his chest. Sirens could be heard in the background.

"Emily...I'm...so...sorry." Matt said between sobs.

The ambulance pulled up and two paramedics hopped out. They brought a stretcher over to where Matt sat still holding Emily. He never wanted to let her go. The paramedics managed to to pry his arms off of her and laid Emily on the stretcher. They began CPR but there was nothing they could do. Nothing anybody could do. Emily was gone. The love of his life died in his arms. And it was all his fault.


	19. Chapter 19

Matt dragged himself into his house, shut the door, and went to curl up on the couch. _'Why Em? What did she do to deserve this? Why now...Why did she have to die...' _Matt thought to himself. Right now his mind was his worst enemy, and he wanted nothing but to shut it up. He looked over at the phone that had started to ring. He didn't feel any need to talk to anyone. After the third ring, his answering machine picked up.

"Hey you've reached Matt Flannery, leave a message after the beep."

"Matt it's Cheryl. Please call me. I just heard. Matt you need to talk to someone, please!" Cheryl said in a pleading tone.

He felt bad for not talking to her, but at this time his emotions were pretty much gone. He had just watched Emily, his Emily die, and was completely helpless to save her.

His phone rang again.

"Stop calling me! Leave me alone!" Matt shouted to an empty house. Tears started to fall again. _'Oh Emily..'_

"Hey you've reached Matt Flannery, leave a message after the beep."

"Matt it's Lia. I'm so sorry..I know how much she meant to you...I uh..I saw you guys the other day in the conference room. Matt I'm here if you need to talk.."

Matt cried harder. Emily was his world. Losing her the first time hurt bad enough. But at least she was alive. Matt was consumed with guilt.

"If only I'd listened to her and not pushed her to talk to her mom. Why did I do that? Why did I tell my dad we were sleeping together? Why didn't I..." Matt trailed off too overcome by tears to speak anymore. He leaned forward and rested his head on his knees. He just wanted to die.

He somehow wished that it was all a dream. That he would wake up from it, and find Emily curled up next to him. Her beautiful infectious smile gleaming his way. He wanted to believe that, but he knew he couldn't. He wiped the tears off with the back of his hand, noticing that there was blood on it. He looked down at his shirt, and saw that he was indeed covered in her blood. He felt a rise of bile in his throat. He rushed to the bathroom, washed off his hands, and quickly removed his shirt. Tears streaming down his face even more quickly. His phone started to ring again.

"Hey you've reached Matt Flannery, leave a message after the beep"

"Matt it's Frank and Duff. Please talk to us, or Cheryl, or Lia. We need to know how your doing, please man," Frank said, his voice full of worry for a man he'd known for years.

Matt walked into his room and sat on the bed. Never again would he feel her beside him. Never again would wake up in the morning to her breaktaking kisses. Never again would he make love to her...Matt put his head in his hands as his body was once again wracked with sobs. He looked up at the nightstand. Emily's cell phone sat beside his. Matt looked over at the dresser. Emily's badge and gun lay next to his. He stood up and walked over.

_'I have nothing left to live for. Emily is gone. It's all my fault. It should've been me.'_ Matt picked up his gun and walked out to the living room. He picked up a pen and grabbed a piece of computer paper.

_"To Whoever Finds This Letter,_

_Emily Lehman was my life. We grew up together. When our parents split us up 15 years ago, I was heartbroken. She was my best friend. I thought we'd be friends forever. Emily is gone. She was taken so cruelly from me. My life will never feel joy or happiness again. No one can replace what I've lost, and the pain will never subside. I know this because I have lost her before, only this time, she is gone forever. This is my last goodbye to everyone. Everyone at CNU, I love you guys. You were and always will be great friends. Dad and Sarah, see what your bitterness and pettiness caused. Now you will never have a chance to mend the broken shell of a relationship we all had. I would rather die here today, to meet my beloved Emily in the afterlife, than to be around any of you. Sarah Lehman and Joseph Flannery, you two deserve each other. Because of your bitterness I've lost Emily, and now you've lost both of us. I have nothing else to say. All I ask, as my final words, I want to be buried next to my lovely Emily._

_Matthew Flannery"_

Matt knew deep down that this was going to hurt everyone close to him. He oddly didn't care. He only cared that this would end his ever growing pain. He sat on the couch, swiped his hand across his tear streaked face. He knew that no one could take his pain away, and that he was doing what was best for him, and everyone around him. He heard his phone ringing again, and felt like shooting it.

"Hey you've reached Matt Flannery leave a message after the beep."

"Matt...she's gone isn't she...why did you have to fall for her. She would still be alive if it wasn't for you. My baby girl is gone, and it's all your fault," Sarah said, before hanging up.

Tears cascaded freely down his face. He looked at the gun in his hand. It looked much more friendly than it had. He wiped the tears once more, before slowly lifting the gun to his head.

"I love you, Emily." He leaned back, and pulled back the trigger...BANG.

THE END


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